


First Among Friends

by goodnyte



Category: Brave Police J-Decker
Genre: Cute, Family Feels, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2015-03-08
Packaged: 2018-03-17 00:15:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3507980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodnyte/pseuds/goodnyte
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It can be a lot of pressure, being first. Deckerd is worried on the eve of welcoming his new teammates to the world and Azuki tries to help. Deckerd introspection, circa episode 3.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Among Friends

_First of its kind. An innovation unlike any we have ever seen._

He’d been called so many things.

_Nothing on Earth like it._

To be fair, Deckerd hadn’t been aware when the scientists and engineers had said those things. It was only after meeting a young boy by chance that he realized how alienating it all was.

He was alone. There was nothing like him.

But he had never been meant to understand what being alone was. Loneliness was not something his processor had been developed to understand.  

It was the very first emotion he could remember, gradually gripping hold of his Super AI in an icy vice grip. Sentience had occurred to him slowly and then all at once, a sudden pang of crushing fear and confusion that he had immediately wished gone.

_When you leave…sad…lonely…_

Deckerd sat in vehicle form in the Tomonaga residence, thinking that it was ironic that he’d once so readily rejected what he now understood to be a gift. If it hadn’t been for Yuuta, he would have never developed a ‘heart’, as they had taken to calling it. It defied everything the engineers had planned and predicted; they called him a ‘miracle’, which was a word the humans used when science failed to explain what should have been explicable.

But as happy as he was now with this bizarre state of affairs, he knew he would never want to force those first few moments of confusion on anyone or anything else. The air in his tires made a hissing sound as though deflating, his whole frame sagging with worry.

Build Team would be coming online the next day and Deckerd, for the first time since he’d become self-aware, would finally no longer be alone.

He had Yuuta, of course, his first friend who had never left him wanting for companionship. But even being with Yuuta hadn’t helped to erase the fear and insecurity that came along with literally being the only one of his kind. All of those things the engineers had said were true, up until now; he was the _first_ of his kind. There was nothing on Earth like him. Not yet.

That would all be changing come morning but even then he realized Build Team’s circumstances wouldn’t be quite the same. There were three of them coming online. They were coming into the world self-aware and together, whereas Deckerd had come online as a machine and had made the transition from unconsciousness to sentience in terrifying real time, alone.

He was grateful that the others wouldn’t be going through that. That had been his worst fear, when they said they’d be making more robots like him. But still, he selfishly wished he had someone to relate to, to worry and wonder with…

A crashing sound from inside the garage startled him from his thoughts, his sirens setting off on their own as his vehicle form straightened in alarm. Scanners and sensors went online, pinging urgently but… the only threat detected was Urunyan. The cat clumsily stumbled from the garbage can she had apparently jumped in and tipped over, hopping over the debris, seemingly unbothered by the brief chaos she’d caused. Deckerd sheepishly sagged again, his sirens belatedly whirring to silence. Urunyan mewed up at him, tilting her head before slinking off elsewhere in the garage.

The light from the side window blinked on, followed by the door that led into the house from the garage swinging open. Deckerd wanted to try to do his best at looking like he was recharging but his AI sparked guiltily at the sight of a sleepy Azuki padding her way to standing on the cold cement in her pajamas, looking around to see what the cause of the commotion was.

“My apologies, Azuki,” he finally said, lowering his headlights in shame. The girl jumped, startled out of her still-bleary daze; Deckerd winced, realizing his mistake. “I’m sorry, uh, I’m sorry again, I didn’t mean to wake you. I was just startled is all…” he trailed off, sighing in frustration with himself though his exhaust.

“Oh, Deckerd,” Azuki said, giggling in breathless relief. “I’m just not used to having a talking vehicle parked in our garage. Don’t apologize,” she said. She raised a hand, uncertain, but gently placed it on the hood of one of his headlights after just a moment’s hesitation. “Did Urunyan tip the trash over again?” she asked, placing her unoccupied hand against her hip.

“Yes,” Deckerd replied, sounding miserable. Some officer of the law he was shaping up to be. How brave was he really if he was afraid of kittens going bump in the night?

“I’m sorry if she scared you.”

“Oh!” Deckerd said, headlights brightening. “Don’t be sorry. She didn’t wake me up or anything. I was having trouble, uh, sleeping anyway,” he admitted. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Azuki made a face, an expression that registered as confusion and concern. Oh no, what had he said?

“You were having trouble sleeping?” she asked, a small frown pulling at her mouth. “I didn’t realize you slept. Or that you could have trouble doing so,” she said, lifting her hand from his headlight.

Deckerd frowned inwardly, realizing he must have said something that upset her. “I don’t sleep, exactly,” he said haltingly, sheepishly trying to choose his words carefully. “I recharge, which is a restorative process that is analogous to human sleep. I didn’t mean to imply that it was the same thing,” he said. He wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d taken offense to his comparison to the human activity; being forcibly dropped into the uncanny valley was probably unpleasant.

“Why? It sounds similar enough,” Azuki said, surprising Deckerd. She turned around, looking for something, missing the startled blink of his headlights. “Ah, here,” she said, pulling a foldable chair from the wall and undoing it, dropping into it with a soft plop. “When Yuuta can’t sleep, sometimes it helps him to talk about what’s worrying him. Maybe it’ll work for you too,” she said with a smile, looking at Deckerd expectantly.

“Oh,” the Brave Detective murmured, his processor tripping over itself in his confusion. So she wasn’t mad about what he’d said. That was good, but what was he supposed to say now? She didn’t seem eager to judge or take offense but how was he supposed to explain all of what he’d been thinking to a human? “They’re bringing the other Brave Police members online tomorrow morning. Or, today’s morning,” he noted, checking his internal clock and noting that it was well past midnight.

“Yuuta mentioned that,” Azuki said with a nod. “That must be exciting. Is that why you couldn’t sleep?”

Deckerd hummed. “That’s part of it. I’m excited to meet them,” he said, though he could hear the doubt in his own voice. Azuki didn’t say anything else, leaving open the invitation to continue. “There are three of them. They’re coming online as a team and I’m worried…” he started, trying to figure out how to phrase it. “What if they don’t like me? What if, even with others like me, I’m still alone?” he asked, not sure if he was still talking to Azuki, or to the universe that didn’t seem to know what to do with him. She couldn’t possibly answer such a question…

She was humming in thought though, apparently about to make an attempt at a reply. “You’re like an older brother,” she finally said, understanding evident in her small smile. “Sort of. I’m sorry, that probably sounds silly,” she said, laughing to herself nervously.

The thought pinged in his mind like a flame, a frame of reference he suddenly found himself grasping for like a lifeline. _Brother (n): a male who has the same one or both parents as you; one of a type similar to another; one who assumes the role of a brother, as by providing protection or guidance_. He latched onto the last definition, intrigued.

“It doesn’t sound silly,” he murmured, lost in his thoughts. “Not any sillier than a talking car with insomnia, anyway.” Deckerd forced himself to focus, trying to pull himself out of the thoughts racing through his processor. “Please, explain,” he said, and he wondered if she understood how desperate a plea it was.

“Well, I was only little when Kurumi was born but I remember being excited and scared. I was happy that I wouldn’t be alone and that I’d have someone to play with,” she said. “But I was worried she wouldn’t like me, or that I’d be a bad older sister. My parents always told me how important it was to be a good example,” she said, her smile faltering. “It’s a lot of pressure, being first.”

Deckerd’s headlights blinked again, his Super AI sparking with something that was registering as _sympathy_. He could understand because… it was similar to what he was feeling. Pressure. Being first, and being the model that the others were literally patterned on. It wasn’t exactly the same but it was certainly close.

“You’ve clearly done an excellent job,” Deckerd said after a moment, realizing that Azuki had also gone quiet. “Yuuta speaks highly of you and everything you do to take care of things while your parents are gone.”

Azuki blushed brightly, eyes going wide at the praise. “Does he? Oh, thank you for telling me,” she said, sighing. “It’s hard sometimes, keeping them in line. I feel like they hate me at times.”

Deckerd’s headlights turned down at that. “Not at all. They must understand,” he said, and then paused, thinking. “So, while I’ve got the ear of an exemplary older sibling,” he said, smiling inwardly. “What should I do tomorrow? How can I be as good?”

Azuki’s brows knitted together, her expression belying deep thought. “Well,” she finally said. “Don’t worry so much, first of all. They’re going to like you. They’ll be like your family, so they have to,” she said, holding up a finger to preempt any protest. “It’s part of the deal. But, as for being a good older sibling,” she trailed on, tapping a finger against her chin. “All you can do is try to protect them and keep them from doing stupid things,” she said, shrugging with a small laugh. “Which is easier said than done, but there’s nothing much else you can do. You have to let them be themselves but you can try to guide them a little bit. Give them good advice when you can, and listen when they need it.”

Deckerd hummed again, struck by the fact that that was exactly what Azuki was doing now – that, in a way, he had become her younger sibling as if by accident. “I suppose I can do that,” he said quietly. Perhaps he had been thinking about this too hard. If he could be half as good at this as Azuki was then maybe everything would be fine.

He had a few months of experience over Build Team. They would need some help and he had the data and the knowledge to help them navigate the first few days of self-awareness. They’d have more than he had when he’d come online and that could only be a good thing. And even if they were a team, they would be three separate Braves – individuals, three friends to come to know.

“I know you can do that,” Azuki said, reaching out to pat his headlight again. “And you’re going to be great at it.”

A warmth began to grow in his core, replacing the cold worry that had been plaguing his mind before. “Thank you,” he said, touched by her words. He sighed, his Super AI feeling overwhelmed by these new feelings and thoughts. He checked his clock again and winced guiltily when he noted the time. “But, it seems I’ve kept you up very late. You should get back to sleep,” he said.

Azuki chuckled again as she got up from the chair and folded it back against the wall. “See? You’re good at it already,” she said. Deckerd blinked his headlights, not even realizing what he’d done. “I hope you can sleep better now. You have a big day tomorrow,” she said, patting his hood in farewell.

“I think I’ll be okay,” he said, headlights powering down to illustrate his point. “Good night, Azuki. And thank you again.”

Azuki smiled, nodding. “Good night, Deckerd,” she said, closing the door behind her as she slipped back into the house. The light from the side window went out, the garage going dark again for the few remaining hours of night.

Deckerd settled on his tires, his mind feeling remarkably clear. He possessed a confidence he hadn’t had before and the loneliness was gone, at least for now. Now it was excitement, rather than worry, that was making it hard to sleep. What would Build Team be like? He didn’t even know their names yet. The dread he’d felt before was gone and the morning now couldn’t come fast enough.

His processor started to slow and wind down into its recharge subroutines, finally. He was going to sleep, he thought. He may not have been human but Azuki had proven, he was pretty close, and that wasn’t a bad thing. While the so-close-but-so-far sensation he’d felt with the humans had seemed like a gulf separating them before, he now saw it for what it was: just a small space between them, easily overcome with some time and patience.  

His thoughts and feelings weren’t so strange; he wasn’t actually Build Team’s older brother, but the analogy was close enough that Azuki’s advice applied. The realization was liberating, to know that he could understand his human friends, and that they could understand him in turn.

And he could help Build Team understand the humans faster than he had. He could protect them; give them advice when he could, listen when they needed it.

Recharge finally claimed him and he slept soundly, the weight of being first settling on his shoulders more comfortably, now a blessing rather than a burden.

 


End file.
